A love message posted along a recreational trail in Madison, Wisconsin. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
WHAT IS LOVE if not compassion, care and kindness, often privately, but also publicly, expressed? Each holds value.
Roses from my husband. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
On Valentine’s Day, I appreciate a loving valentine, a box of chocolates and/or a dozen roses as much as anyone. But what I value even more is the steadfast love that is part of my daily life. The love that comes in a hug, a kind word, a loving gesture, a caring act, a text.
A look inside a food pantry outside the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I also appreciate the ways in which communities show love. Neighbors helping neighbors. Nonprofits providing for those in need of food, housing, financial assistance. Volunteers helping in their communities in whatever ways they can, whenever they can. We are seeing a lot of that right now.
This is love.
A beautiful love-themed mural in Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
And then there’s love-themed art found in public spaces. I’ve discovered love on murals, in signs, even on the back of a car. I often photograph these love messages because I think it’s important to document the positive, that which uplifts, that which connects all of us no matter our differences.
A personal, loving message photographed on the back of a car several years ago at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Love is universal. And how we express and live love matters in connecting us, building relationships, bettering our communities.
One of my favorite photos, taken in Pine Island, shows a loving act. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Love comes in a smile, a door held, a supportive arm offered, an encouraging word spoken. Words matter. They need not be poetic or profound, simply rooted in kindness, understanding, care.
A vintage valentine from my mom’s collection. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Listening, too, is love, something we could all be better at practicing. The same goes for thinking before we speak or anonymously type behind our screens.
Photographed in Pine Island. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
On Valentine’s Day, I hope we can all pause and ponder the ways in which we can grow love. In our personal lives. In our neighborhoods. In our communities. For “what the world needs now is love, sweet love.” And a whole lot more of it.
Sunset at City View Park, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo December 2025)
RED WING HAS BARN BLUFF. Winona has Sugar Loaf Bluff. And Faribault has City View Park.
The color of the sky is ever changing during sunset. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo December 2025)
Now a park may not sound as impressive as a bluff. But the view from City View Park on my community’s east side is pretty spectacular. Plus, driving or walking to the street level location is much easier than climbing a bluff, making the park easily accessible to all.
I zoomed in on the clock tower at Shumway Hall on the campus of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School. City View Park offers a great view of the historic building. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
I consider this park one of Faribault’s best kept secrets. It provides a sweeping view of the valley with local landmarks poking through the landscape. Like the clock tower on Shumway Hall at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School. Or buildings on the campus of the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf. Seeing those steepled and towering buildings conveys a sense of history in a community rich in historic structures.
Trees on the edge of the hill at City View Park frame the valley and the sunset. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo December 2025)
From this hilltop location, the land unfolds, touches the sky, connects to a beautiful city below. Any season of the year, this park offers a lovely vista. I’ve picnicked at City View Park in three seasons. Watched fireworks here on the Fourth of July. And in the winter photographed the most stunning sunsets. Orange. Pink. Red. Yellow.
A prairie sunset photographed from Minnesota State Highway 67 between Redwood Falls and Morgan in my home county. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I am, by birth, a flatlander, a daughter of the southwestern Minnesota prairie. There the horizon seemingly stretches into infinity across the wide open, mostly treeless landscape. That presents an ideal stage to spotlight the sun. Painterly sunrises and sunsets and the endless prairie wind are forever imprinted upon my spirit.
Sometimes I just sit on the bench and be still. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo December 2025)
Since moving to Faribault some 40 years ago, I’ve lived in the valley, sunsets hidden by the hillside that rises next to my home. I miss seeing the setting sun on a daily basis as I did during my youth. Now I must intentionally seek out the blazing orange orb rather than simply looking across the farmyard.
A city water tower stands right next to the park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
That sometimes takes me up St. Paul Avenue to City View Park, next to the water tower and across from Trump’s Apple Orchard.
The painterly sunset mesmerizes me. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo December 2025)
As I walk toward the edge of the hill to look across the valley, I feel small in the immensity of place. Distant landmark buildings ground me. But the view always, always fills me up with a sense of wonder at the majesty of the land, the glory of the sun, the forever of the sky.
HE’S A MESMERIZING and engaging storyteller. He is Joseph Mbele, retired professor of post-colonial literature at St. Olaf College in Northfield, cultural consultant and author.
And Wednesday, February 11, at 6 p.m., Mbele will be the featured speaker at a free literary event at Books on Central, a volunteer-run used bookshop of the Rice County Area United Way. Located in the heart of historic downtown Faribault, home to many Somali immigrants and refugees, the bookshop seems a fitting place for Mbele to talk about the living tradition of African folktales and the role of the storyteller. Somali men gather on street corners in downtown Faribault to share stories and news.
I’ve heard Mbele speak at this bookshop previously. I absolutely cannot say enough positive things about the warm way he connects with the audience, the way he uses stories to teach, the way he genuinely cares about bridging cultural differences.
Love this book by Joseph Mbele.
As an author, his writing carries that same compassionate, culturally-connective message. He’s written Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences, Chickens in the Bus: More Thoughts on Cultural Differences, and Matengo Folktales.
Mbele knows of what he speaks and writes. Born in rural Tanzania, he studied and taught at a public university there; earned a PhD in African Language and Literature from the University of Wisconsin—Madison; and eventually landed in the English department of St. Olaf College in 1991.
His visit to Books on Central on Wednesday evening presents an opportunity to learn from a gifted storyteller about African folktales and culture in a comfortable setting back-dropped by shelves of books.
Food plated at a potluck, including several hotdishes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
WHEN MINNESOTANS PREPARE FOOD for a potluck, they make hotdishes, not casseroles. Same thing, just a different word for a dish that mixes a protein, vegetables, noodles or rice all held together by a binding agent. That would be a creamed soup, in most instances.
Sometimes, though, hotdish comes not in food, but in entertainment. Saturday afternoon, The Looney Lutherans served up a hefty helping of humor, music, skits and audience participation to a sold out crowd at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault.
A promo for the show presented in Faribault. (Graphics credit: The Looney Lutherans)
The two-hour show, “It Could Be Worse: A Looney guide to love, marriage and other relationships,” proved to be exactly what I needed. I needed to laugh. And I needed a pause from the reality of all that’s happening in Minnesota right now, although I still could not completely shut that out.
Before settling onto a folding chair at the back of the theater, I volunteered, opening an exterior door of the PCA as guests arrived, stepping in from the Minnesota cold. I’m a people person so I loved greeting attendees with warm words and a smile. Everyone smiled back, thanked me and that set the tone for a few hours in Paradise.
This was a show that, in the context of today, resonated with me. Using a food wheel, the Looney Lutherans showed and explained how each of us fit different food categories all centered around a singular food. Hotdish. That visual made total sense to me as a life-long Minnesotan. Whether we are Scandinavian or Bohemian; Lutheran or Catholic or no faith; Caucasian, Hispanic or another skin tone; extroverted or introverted, we are all just people.
The Looney Lutherans, Bella, left to right, Lois and Ginger, with their “instruments.” (Photo credit: The Looney Lutherans)
As the trio of Looney Lutheran performers sang “We are family,” I felt that loving, human connection. No matter our differences, we are all still part of humanity. The audience joined in, even me who can’t carry a tune.
In that moment of upbeat song, I felt hope. I felt happiness. I felt joy.
And when the show closed with the Minnesota phrase of “It could be worse,” I recognized the truth in that, even as bad as things are right now in Minnesota. I’d gotten a reprieve from reality for several hours.
Then I stepped outside—to hear incessant and prolonged honking of horns and yelling in the heart of downtown Faribault. My mindset shifted. Immediately.
My protest sign focuses on human rights while another sign I created calls for ICE to get out of Rice County and Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
I PULLED OUT my long johns, wool socks, stocking cap, mittens, hand warmers, winter boots and scarf. Then I pulled out my parka and my protest sign: STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
This photo shows just a section of the protesters lining Minnesota State Highway 60 on Saturday. Protesters meet here weekly at 11 a.m. for an hour of peaceful protest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
Just before 11 a.m. Saturday, Randy and I joined others outside the Rice County government services building along Minnesota State Highway 60 for our fourth protest there and the fifth in Faribault. Each week numbers grow, this time reaching some 80 of us stretched along the sidewalk with our signs.
Bundled up in 25-degree temps, a protester displays a sign against ICE. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
We are not agitators or paid protesters as some claim, but rather ordinary Minnesotans united, called by our morals, our compassion, our concerns, to publicly say we are not OK with what is happening in this country. We are Minnesotans who care about immigrants and refugees, about freedom, about the Constitution, about due process and much more. We are concerned about the presence of ICE agents, whom we want out of our community, out of our state, after two-plus months of occupation.
If you look closely at the banner on the lamp post, you will see a photo of a local veteran. Many veterans have joined the Saturday protests, recognizing the importance of standing up for freedom and Constitutional rights. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
And so we protest, week after week in our community an hour south of Minneapolis, because our city, too, has been impacted by ICE. People have been taken by federal agents from an apartment complex near the public library, by the railroad tracks near the turkey processing plant, from the trailer parks… It’s documented in videos. Warning horns blare, whistles sound, bystanders yell, sometimes. ICE has parked for hours in a neighborhood with Hispanic families. Watching, intimidating, silently threatening. Agents have photographed license plates at a gas station. This is reality in my city of 25,000.
School attendance has dropped. People are afraid to go to work, afraid to go grocery shopping and/or to food shelves (because ICE is watching), afraid to go to the doctor, afraid to leave their homes for fear of being taken by ICE. Legal status doesn’t seem to matter, only skin color, although even white people have been detained (with two killed) in Minnesota. Neighbors, churches and more have rallied to help with grocery shopping and delivery, walking kids to bus stops, giving co-workers rides. That support matters as does participating in protests. I’ve personally been thanked by Latinos and a Somali man for protesting.
This is why I’ve become an activist. This is why I use my voice as a writer and photographer. That is why I’ve started volunteering at a local food shelf. No one should live in fear of simply going about their daily lives. I am also doing this for my young grandchildren. I want them to understand the importance of speaking up for others. I want them to realize, when they are old enough, that their grandma did not remain silent in the face of atrocities inflicted by the federal government upon its people.
One protester drew on history to create his protest sign. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
There is value in publicly taking a stand, especially in a city like mine which votes red. (Well, certainly not all of us.) Every protest brings out some who object to our activism as they drive by. That is their Constitutional right. They flash middle fingers, shout profanities, sometimes drive aggressively close, raging mad. That is not OK, potentially endangering people protesting in a public space. But we remain undeterred in raising our voices.
Cold winter weather has not stopped Minnesotans from bundling up to speak up. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, a group of county residents are going to the Rice County Board of Commissioners meeting to speak about the impact of ICE on the community. That will happen during the open comments portion of the meeting at 8 a.m. I’m not part of that group, but was made aware of it. I’ve felt for a while that our local city and county government officials need to address this topic. ICE is certainly having a negative impact on the health, safety and well-being of county residents both directly and indirectly. That should not, and cannot, be ignored.
We must all do whatever we can, whenever we can, however we can to speak up, help and love our neighbors, and stand strong in the face of tyranny and injustice.
An eye-catching goalpost sign marks a food collection point just outside the sanctuary of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Lakeville. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
AS I WRITE, the Super Bowl is playing out on the television screen in the next room. I could care less.
But I do care about the Soup Per Bowl Sunday that played out this morning in a south metro church. I was there attending a pancake breakfast fundraiser for kids going to summer camp. That includes my young granddaughter.
Donations collected at St. John’s for a food shelf. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes with blueberry sauce, cheesy hash browns and sausages, I headed to the narthex on my way to the 10:30 a.m. worship service at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lakeville. Just outside the sanctuary, I spotted a large collection of filled grocery bags. Turns out this was this faith community’s version of the Super Bowl.
Looking down into bags filled with food and personal care products. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
At St. John’s, it was a Soup Per Bowl of Kindness, according to associate pastor Nathan Lyke. And that kindness came in grocery bags filled with cans of soup, spaghetti, peanut butter, cereal, granola bars, flour, hot chocolate mix, toothpaste, personal hygiene products and much more. A generous outpouring of donations for a designated food shelf.
All across Minnesota, faith communities, individuals and nonprofits are stepping up to feed others, as noted in the day’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah 58, specifically verse seven, “to share your bread with the hungry.”
Gratitude expressed for generosity. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
I personally know of people who are donating money and food, collecting monetary donations from family and friends, buying groceries and/or delivering food to food shelves for bagging and distribution to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE. I know of people proxy-shopping at local food shelves and then taking groceries to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE. I know of local churches collecting food and delivering to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE.
This story is repeating through community after community in my state. I’ve never been more proud to be a Minnesotan, to live in a place where we take care of each other, where Super Bowl Sunday means much more than a football game.
The service program cover featured an historic photo of Native Americans incarcerated at Ft. Snelling following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 prior to their deportation from Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
WE GATHERED. On a day when I learned that a friend, an American citizen, was recently racially-profiled and stopped by ICE. On a day when I learned that ICE vehicles have been parked in my neighborhood. On a day when several Minnesota children were released from federal detainment in Texas. On a day when the border czar announced the draw-down of 700 federal agents (out of 3,000) in Minnesota. On this early February day, 75 of us gathered for an “Evening Prayer Service for Our Nation” at the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault, Bishop Henry Whipple’s church.
The prayer service was open to anyone who wanted to attend in a church I’ve always considered especially welcoming and focused on serving community. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
I needed this service of prayer, scripture, Psalms, reflection and hymns to quiet my troubled spirit. But I needed, too, to hold space, to sit and stand and sing and pray in community, in support of anyone—especially our immigrant and refugee neighbors—illegally stopped, taken and/or detained by ICE.
A couple leans on one another during the service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
This was not a protest service. Rather, this was a reflective, prayerful, unifying, worshipful coming together of people in my community who care deeply about their neighbors and about this nation.
People arrive for the 7 pm service inside the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
The Rev. James Zotalis welcomed attendees to the event held inside the massive Episcopal cathedral completed in 1869 under the leadership of Bishop Whipple. “Welcome to the Whipple building,” Zotalis said in opening his short homily. “This is the real Whipple building.”
Gathered inside the cathedral for the prayer service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
He contrasted the beautiful church to the stark seven-story Whipple Federal Building 50 miles to the north that bears the good bishop’s name and which is now a temporary detention center for those detained by ICE in Minnesota. Conditions inside have been described as “inhumane” by officials who have visited the facility.
A portrait of Bishop Henry Whipple hanging inside the cathedral. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
The cathedral, Zotalis said, is a place of love and peace, its ministry modeled after that of Bishop Whipple and his first wife, Cornelia. Arriving here from Chicago in 1859, the couple had already served in dangerous areas of that city, connecting with people in tangible, helpful ways, much like we see Minnesotans stepping up and helping others today.
The Rev. Henry Doyle, left, a church member, and the Rev. James Zotalis, right, start the service with a processional. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
With a repeated directive to “always say no to evil,” Zotalis said Minnesotans have done just that since the invasion of our state by masked federal agents two months ago. He listed specifics: bringing food to people afraid to leave their homes, providing rides, offering free legal aid and peacefully protesting.
Among the many hymns we sang was #482, “Lord of all hopefulness.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
“Love your neighbor as yourself” was emphasized often in love-themed Scripture readings (Luke 10:27, I Corinthians 13:13, I John 4:11) during the Wednesday evening service. Like the good people of Minnesota today, Bishop Whipple showed that love long ago in his ministry to the Dakota people locally, across the state and during their imprisonment after the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 at Fort Snelling, where the Whipple Federal Building is located. Whipple faced death threats for those who opposed his compassionate work with Native Americans.
Death. In a time of remembrance during Wednesday’s service, attendees could speak the names of “deceased and alive during this time of tragedy and strife.” I spoke first: “Renee Good.” Then another voice: “Alex Pretti.” And then an attendee read the names of 32 individuals who died in ICE detention in 2025. Thirty-two.
A woman holds a prayer book used often during the service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
Many times my emotions verged on tears. As we asked, “Lord, keep this nation under your care.” As we sang “America the Beautiful.” As we prayed a Collect for Peace. As I thought of Jesus, who also lived in troubled times and who served with love and compassion.
Theme words of love, compassion, mercy and neighbor threaded throughout the service led by the reverends Zotalis and Henry Doyle. I could feel those words. And I could feel, too, the collective sense that we all needed this evening of prayer, scripture, Psalms, reflection and hymns to quiet our troubled spirits.
A wish on the Wish Wall at Buckham Memorial Library, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo January 2026)
I happened upon this project a few weeks ago while walking through the hallway connecting Buckham Memorial Library to the Faribault rec center. I knew I needed to write about this effort to gather comments in a time of much uncertainty and turmoil in America as we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Posting a wish at the Carleton College Library during the project launch. (Photo by and courtesy of Zachary Spindler-Krage, Division of Communications, Carleton College)
Weeks into the project, Wish Walls, set up in eight locations throughout Rice County, are generating high interest and participation. “The public has really embraced the opportunity to express their feelings about America on its birthday. We originally hoped we’d get 200 responses total. I suspect now that we’ll get three times that number by the time we take down the Wish Walls (around February 16)” said Serena Zabin, professor of history and liberal arts at Carleton College in Northfield. She teaches the class, HIST 216: History Beyond Walls, that is leading this civic engagement effort.
The Wish Wall in the hallway outside Buckham Library had only two wishes when I photographed it several weeks ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo January 2026)
WISHING FOR UNITY & MORE
And what are people in Faribault writing on those Wish Walls, which I checked on January 21-22? Answers range from personal to general. Some common themes emerge with wishes for love, happiness, respect, kindness, empathy… I especially appreciated the wish that we would “…learn to be color blind. We are more the same than we are different.” That resonates.
One simple wish at the Oasis. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo January 2026)
I felt the deep concern of the writer who hopes for a return to “humanity.” Another wishes “that we wouldn’t be so politically aggravated.” Another holds one singular wish: Unity.
Posted at the Oasis. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo January 2026)
There’s a lot of thought and emotion behind these written words posted on local Wish Walls. When I read about desires that no one go hungry, that all can access medical care, that we ought to help our neighbors, I felt the love of community.
Sharpies and cards for writing wishes at the Buckham Library Wish Wall. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo January 2026)
REVIEW, ANALYZE, SUMMARIZE, LEARN
When the Wish Walls come down, the Carleton College history class will review, analyze and summarize the comments, looking for patterns and common themes, determining whether location impacted responses and more, according to professor Zabin. Results will be shared via social media through the college and the county historical society and at the county fair.
Students will also compare comments with historical research they are doing on the commemoration of the 1876 Centennial, Zabin said, with a goal to answer this question: If there had been Wish Walls around Rice County in 1876, what responses might people have posted?
Penning a wish for America during the project launch at the Carleton College Library. (Photo by and courtesy of Zachary Spindler-Krage, Division of Communications, Carleton College)
I appreciate the work of these students, who are monitoring the Wish Walls, making public presentations and researching. What they learn will not only be invaluable in connecting them with local communities, but will also provide useful information and insights for those of us who call Rice County home. Responses and reports will be kept in a time capsule by the county historical society.
At Faribault’s senior center, Buckham West, a wish for Americans. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo January 2026)
Via this nationwide project, people from across the country are sharing their thoughts about America’s future. There’s much to contemplate during this 250th year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our nation in the context of today in the U.S.
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FYI: Wish Walls in Rice County have been placed in Faribault at Buckham Memorial Library, Buckham West and The Oasis 55021; in Northfield at the Northfield Public Library, FiftyNorth Senior Center, the Key Youth Center and the Carleton College Library; and at the Lonsdale Public Library.
(Promo courtesy of the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour)
FIFTY MILES FROM THE NON-DESCRIPT Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building currently housing ICE detainees in Minneapolis, a beautiful, aged cathedral rises high in the heart of Faribault. Wednesday evening, February 4, that magnificent, massive cathedral—Bishop Whipple’s church—will center a community gathering.
The historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, 515 Second Avenue Northwest, across from Central Park in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2025)
Beginning at 7 p.m. the historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour will open its doors for “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” in support of Faribault’s refugees and immigrants. The Cathedral’s pastor, the Rev. James Zotalis, and the Rev. Henry Doyle will lead the event, which includes prayers, readings, music and teachings from Bishop Whipple.
Organizers also promise networking opportunities and information about ways to help others.
A mural on the back side of the Central Park bandshell in Faribault features a portrait and information about Bishop Henry Whipple. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Bishop Whipple, who shepherded this congregation while serving as the first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota beginning in 1859, would surely be pleased with the upcoming gathering just as he would surely be displeased with the imprisonment of detainees at the federal building bearing his name. He would likely be standing alongside protesters protesting immigration enforcement and asking to visit detainees inside.
This clergyman focused his ministry on “justice and mercy for all.” And that is evidenced in his ministry to the Dakota both in Faribault and parts west in Minnesota and then at Fort Snelling. Whipple went to the fort and ministered to the Dakota held captive there following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
When 303 Dakota were sentenced to hanging after the war, Whipple traveled to Washington DC to ask President Abraham Lincoln to spare their lives. Lincoln pardoned most, but 38 were still hung in the nation’s largest mass execution.
Encouraging words posted near a garden in the heart of downtown Faribault many years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
If Bishop Whipple was alive today, I expect he would be doing everything in his power to help anyone threatened and/or taken by ICE and CBC. But because he is not here, it is up to us to help. I know many people in my community are helping quietly behind the scenes. Walking kids to bus stops. Giving co-workers rides. Delivering groceries. Donating money and food. Volunteering.
Wednesday evening’s “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” is needed, too. It’s needed to bring people together in community, to unite, to uplift, to pray, to share, to recharge, to publicly support our neighbors, to find tangible ways to help. Bishop Whipple would feel grateful. He cared. And so should we.
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FYI: Whether you live near or far, Faribault nonprofits are in need of donations to help families sheltering in place during ICE operations in Minnesota. This is not just a Twin Cities metro enforcement. Many communities in greater Minnesota, including mine, are suffering.
Somali men gather on a bench in downtown Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2024)
HE ARRIVED IN MINNESOTA as a teenage refugee from Somalia. Today Ibrahim Khalif heads the nonprofit Faribault Youth Empowerment Center. And Thursday evening this well-spoken young man with a sense of humor spoke to nearly 60 people at Buckham Memorial Library. We gathered to learn about Somali history and culture in a “Building Bridges Across Cultures” talk.
I am a firm believer that knowledge, understanding and personal connections do, indeed, build bridges.
Ibrahim presented a whole lot of information with accompanying slides. So, rather than attempt to cover everything, I’ll share some highlights.
The Somalian culture is an oral culture, Ibrahim said. That was not new to me, mostly because I’ve heard complaints through the years of locals fearing the Somali men who gather on street corners in downtown Faribault. I knew these men met outside to chat and share news, much like men everywhere meet for coffee and playing cards. Many Somalis live above businesses in downtown Faribault and street corners are their front porches.
ARRIVING IN FARIBAULT
In the early 2000s, Somalis began arriving in Faribault, many from refugee camps, Ibrahim said. They fled a civil war that started in 1991 with faith-based organizations—Lutheran and Catholic—helping them resettle in America. Ibrahim showed before and after the civil war pictures of Somalia that revealed absolute devastation. He also showed images of crowded refugee camps.
Minnesota is home to the largest population of Somalis, some 25,000, outside of Somalia. Thousands call my community home. Ibrahim shared that they came to Faribault for a quiet life, to be close to family already here (family is deeply-valued), for the education system, affordable housing and jobs not requiring English-speaking skills. He specifically named the local turkey processing plant as a place of employment.
Challenges upon arrival included, as you would expect, language barriers, an educational system unprepared for an influx of Somali students, difficulty making friends, racial discrimination and more, Ibrahim said.
VETTING
While I was taking notes, I starred Ibrahim’s statement that refugees undergo rigorous security vetting and screening by the FBI before they are allowed into America. I found that especially pertinent in these times when Somali refugees have been targeted by the federal government and called “garbage” by the president who wants them out of the U.S. Yes, Somalis are worried, Ibrahim acknowledged. Yet, he sounded upbeat, emphasizing several times how much he loves Faribault.
LEARNING
I appreciated that Ibrahim engaged us via asking us to repeat Somali phrases that will help us connect with our Somali neighbors. I admit, I struggled. But I tried and trying is a start. He encouraged us to love each other, to break the ice even with something as simple as a smile. To build partnerships.
But a hug or a handshake with someone of the opposite sex, unless initiated by the person, is unacceptable in Somali culture. Both my friend Ann and I publicly admitted breaking that cultural rule, unbeknownst to us. I am a hugger.
I am also an appreciator of personal details, like Ibrahim’s memory of drinking water from a dirty creek in Somalia and how much his elderly parents miss goats and cattle.
LAUGHING
I also appreciate Somali food, enjoying a savory sambusa Ibrahim brought in a heaping tray to the event. When an audience member asked about his favorite Somali food, Ibrahim replied, burgers and fries. The crowd erupted in laughter.
It felt good to laugh. In the midst of everything happening in Minnesota with ICE, we need laughter. And we need individuals like Ibrahim, standing strong and helping build bridges across cultures.
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
This is love February 12, 2026
Tags: care, commentary, compassion, Faribault, helping neighbors, kindness, love, Minnesota, murals, Northfield, Pine Island, Valentine's Day
WHAT IS LOVE if not compassion, care and kindness, often privately, but also publicly, expressed? Each holds value.
On Valentine’s Day, I appreciate a loving valentine, a box of chocolates and/or a dozen roses as much as anyone. But what I value even more is the steadfast love that is part of my daily life. The love that comes in a hug, a kind word, a loving gesture, a caring act, a text.
I also appreciate the ways in which communities show love. Neighbors helping neighbors. Nonprofits providing for those in need of food, housing, financial assistance. Volunteers helping in their communities in whatever ways they can, whenever they can. We are seeing a lot of that right now.
This is love.
And then there’s love-themed art found in public spaces. I’ve discovered love on murals, in signs, even on the back of a car. I often photograph these love messages because I think it’s important to document the positive, that which uplifts, that which connects all of us no matter our differences.
Love is universal. And how we express and live love matters in connecting us, building relationships, bettering our communities.
Love comes in a smile, a door held, a supportive arm offered, an encouraging word spoken. Words matter. They need not be poetic or profound, simply rooted in kindness, understanding, care.
Listening, too, is love, something we could all be better at practicing. The same goes for thinking before we speak or anonymously type behind our screens.
On Valentine’s Day, I hope we can all pause and ponder the ways in which we can grow love. In our personal lives. In our neighborhoods. In our communities. For “what the world needs now is love, sweet love.” And a whole lot more of it.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling